Synthesis of quinacridone derivative supported on ZnO hexagonal as a new electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction

A new nanocomposite, QA-DBH/ZnO, where QA-DBH is 5,12-bis-(6-bromo-hexyl)-5,12-dihydro-quino[2,3-b]acridine-7,14-dione, was synthesized and characterized by FT-IR, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Brunaur-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area measurement, X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Afterward, the nanocomposite was employed as a heterojunction catalyst for electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in acidic media. Heterojunction catalysts often show a better activity of HER than single-component catalysts. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) were applied to study the electrocatalytic properties of the nanocomposite toward the HER, and Tafel plots were used to calculate the kinetics parameters and to identify the possible mechanism involved in the HER process. The Tafel slope and overpotential of the QA-DBH/ZnO (30 %) nanocomposite are found to be 67 mV dec-1 and 112 mV at 10 mA cm−2, respectively. The electrocatalyst exhibits efficient HER activity owing to the cooperative effect between QA-DBH and ZnO. Good durability, fast kinetics, easy preparation, and low price makes this nanocomposite favorable for HER.